This story began with Jacob fleeing Esau. Jacob
had stolen the blessing of the firstborn that his father had
reserved for his elder brother, Esau. His mother, Rebekah, was
worried that Esau might eventually cause him harm. Thus, Jacob’s
father, Isaac, sent him away to stay with his uncle Laban, his
mother’s brother.
Isaac gave Jacob this specific instruction: "Do
not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead, go at once to Padan
Aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry
one of your uncle’s daughters.
May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your
descendants become a great assembly of peoples! May God pass on to
you and your descendants the blessings that He had promised to
Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God
had given it to Abraham."
Jacob was told to marry one wife. But Laban had
two daughters. Leah was first and Rachel was second. Leah had dull
eyes, but Rachel was beautiful in every way, with a lovely face and
shapely figure.
The ravishing beauty of Rachel had captured the
heart of Jacob. He was deeply in love with her. He told her father,
"I’ll work for you seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your
younger daughter, as my wife."
"Agreed!" Laban replied. "It is better to give
her to you than to someone else outside the family." So Jacob spent
the next seven years working to pay for the bride price of his
lovely Rachel. His love for her was so strong that those seven years
seemed to him but a few days.
Finally, the time arrived for him to marry her.
"I have fulfilled my term," Jacob said to Laban. "Now give me Rachel
so that we can be married."
Laban invited everyone living there to the
wedding feast. When it was dark that night, Laban took Leah to
Jacob, and he slept with her. Laban also gave Leah a maid, Zilpah.
The man, who had deceived his brother and father, was now deceived
by his uncle. He knew not who his wife was.
The next morning, Jacob awoke and realised the
mistake. It was Leah! Jacob went to confront Laban, "Why do you
trick me? I have worked seven years specifically for Rachel."
"It’s not customary for us to marry off a younger
daughter before the elder one," Laban replied. "Please wait until
the bridal week of celebration is over. I will give you Rachel if
you promise to work for me another seven years."
Jacob had no choice. He agreed to work for Laban
seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave
him Rachel. Laban also gave Rachel a maid, Bilhah. Jacob finally
married his love, Rachel.
The two sisters were married to the same man, not
on the same day but a week apart. And Jacob loved Rachel more than
Leah. He stayed on and worked for Laban seven additional years.
Because Leah was unloved, the LORD gave her
children, while Rachel remained childless. Hereby we could see the
favour of the LORD upon Leah. She had inner beauty that Jacob did
not take notice and had disregarded. Her godliness could be seen in
the naming of her children. Rachel’s beauty might be just skin deep.
Her distressing relationship with the LORD could also be seen in the
naming of her sons.
Leah became pregnant. The LORD blessed her with a
son. His name was Reuben,
for she said, "The LORD has noticed my
misery, and now my husband will love me." How she longed
for her husband’s love!
The LORD blessed Leah again. She soon became
pregnant. Her second son was Simeon,
for she said, "The LORD heard that I was
unloved and has given me another son." How prayerful and
thankful she was!
The LORD blessed Leah again. She soon became
pregnant and had a third son. She named him
Levi, for she said,
"Surely now my husband will show affection
for me, since I have given him three sons!" How she
longed for the affection of her husband!
But Jacob still loved Rachel more than Leah. The
LORD blessed Leah once again. She became pregnant and had a fourth
son. His name was Judah,
for she said, "Now I will praise the LORD!"
How she loved the LORD!
Meanwhile Rachel was fuming in anger. She had no
children. This drove her to jealousy against her sister. She did not
turn to God in prayer. Instead she put the pressure on her husband,
"Give me children, or I’ll die!"
Jacob was furious at her wailing. "Am I God?" he
asked her. "He is the Only One Who is able to give you children!"
But Rachel did not heed to his advice to ask and seek God. She
committed the same mistake as Jacob’s grandmother, Sarah. Sarah gave
up waiting on the LORD for a son. She gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar,
to Abraham to bear him a son. Unto them was born Ishmael.
Using this same ancient strategy, Rachel
suggested to Jacob, "Sleep with my maid, Bilhah. She will bear
children for me." Jacob bought the idea. Bilhah became his wife, and
he slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and had a son. Rachel
named him Dan, for she
said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard
my request and given me a son."
Bilhah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a
second son. Rachel named him Naphtali,
for she said, "I have had an intense
struggle with my sister, and I am winning!"
Rachel had this kiasu spirit that was afraid of
losing. She would fight until she won. She did not want to be a
loser. Whatever it took to win, she was willing to buy the price.
She must win. She must be first. And she must be number one.
At this time, Leah realized that she was not
getting pregnant anymore. She employed the same method as Rachel.
She gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife. Now Jacob had
four wives instead of one, which his father, Isaac, had originally
instructed him to marry.
Ziplah bore Jacob his
seventh son. Leah named him Gad, for she said,
"How fortunate I am!" Then Zilpah had another son. Leah named
him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The
other women will consider me happy indeed!"
Leah was full of thanksgiving and praise unto her
Maker. She was rejoicing in all the blessings that the LORD had
bestowed upon her. She considered herself blessed among the women.
The LORD remembered Leah
and opened her womb again. He gave her a fifth son. His name was
Issachar, for she said, "God has given me my wages,
because I have given my maid to my husband." Leah conceived
again and bore Jacob a sixth son. She named him Zebulun,
for she said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my
husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons."
After this, she bore Jacob a daughter named Dinah.
Rachel was in a serious
plight when she saw the fruitfulness of Leah. And she finally turned
to God, and the LORD listened to her prayers. He opened her womb,
and she conceived and bore a son. She said, "God has taken away
my shame." She named him Joseph, for she said,
"May the LORD give me yet another son."
Soon after Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob rose
and set his sons and his wives on camels to flee from his
father-in-law. And he carried away all his livestock and all his
possessions, which he had gained to go back to his father, Isaac, in
the land of Canaan. But Rachel stole the household idols that
belonged to her father, Laban. She committed theft and idolatry.
Three days later Laban found out that Jacob had
gone. So he took some of his relatives along and chased after Jacob.
It took him seven days before catching up with Jacob in the hill
country of Gilead. But God appeared to Laban in a dream that night
and warned, "Don’t say a word to Jacob. Don’t make a threat or a
promise."
Jacob had set up camp in the hill country of
Gilead. Laban and his relatives came and set up camp in another part
of the hill country. Laban went to Jacob and said, "Look what you’ve
done! You’ve tricked me and run off with my daughters like a
kidnapper. Why did you sneak away without telling me? I would have
given you a farewell party with singing and with music on
tambourines and harps. You didn’t even give me a chance to kiss my
own grandchildren and daughters goodbye. That was really foolish. I
could easily hurt you. But the God your father worshipped has warned
me not to make any threats or promises. I can understand why you
were eager to return to your father, but why did you have to steal
my idols?"
Jacob answered, "I left secretly because I was
afraid that you would not let me and my family go. About your idols,
please search us. Anyone found guilty of stealing them would be
killed! Let your relatives be witnesses." Jacob did not know that
Rachel had stolen the household idols.
Laban searched the tents of Jacob, Leah and the
two servant women. He could not find the idols. Then he started to
search Rachel’s tent. She had hidden the idols in a cushion. She was
sitting on it while Laban was searching for the idols. Rachel said,
"Father, please don’t be angry with me for not getting up. I am
having my period." Rachel lied to her father. Laban did not recover
his idols.
Rachel died young after giving birth to her
second son, Benjamin. When the time came for Rachel’s second baby to
be born, Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long
way from Ephrath. Rachel was having a rough
time during the delivery of the child. The woman who was helping her
said, "Don’t worry! It’s a boy." Rachel was at the point of death.
Just before dying, she wanted to name him Benoni,
which means "Son of my Sorrow." But Jacob called him
Benjamin meaning "Son at my Right Side" (the place
of power). Rachel was truly a woman of sorrows till her death.
Rachel was buried beside
the road to Ephrath, which was also later called Bethlehem. Jacob
set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there today.
Leah lived much longer.
Before Jacob’s death, he gave his sons this instruction, "I will die
soon. And I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought
this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near
the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and
so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too. Both the
cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites."
Jacob remembered Leah on his deathbed. He was buried with his wife,
Leah.
I believe that as the years went by, Jacob had
come to appreciate the goodness and godliness of Leah. He had begun
to love her slowly but surely. She was loved finally! She was truly
a blessed woman. From her third son, Levi, we have the priesthood.
From her fourth son, Judah, we have King David and Jesus our
Messiah! From her fifth son, Issachar, we could understand the times
and seasons of God. Below is a table of the wives and sons of Jacob: